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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
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Members

Valedictory

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:41): I thank the chamber for their forbearance. I rise today to advise the council that later this week I will tender to you, Mr President, my resignation. I do not take this step lightly. I have always tried my utmost to fulfil my duties as a legislative councillor to the best of my abilities. It has been a great honour and privilege to have served the South Australian community in this place. However, I have a greater responsibility as the carer of my wife, Glenys, the love of my life for over 40 years.

The year 2016 has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for Glenys, myself and our family. The year had enormous highs and significant lows. In February and March, we saw the arrival of our two beautiful grandsons, Leo and Max. We also celebrated the marriage of our daughter, Katie, to the love of her life, Sarah. Sadly, this is not recognised by the Australian government, but it certainly is by my family. Through this, though, we have had to deal with Glenys's declining medical condition.

Unfortunately, the year started on the wrong foot with my wife being hospitalised with a serious lung infection which was a sign of things to come. She was hospitalised countless times throughout the rest of the year, often for weeks at a time. Although Glenys has suffered from a chronic lung condition for four decades, we were not prepared for what was to come.

In June, the issue of a possible lung transplant was first raised. At this stage, we sought a second medical opinion. Thankfully, through a friend, Professor Hubertus Jersmann of the University of Adelaide Medical School, who is here today, we were referred to Dr Judith Morton of the Royal Adelaide Hospital who undertook the re-evaluation of Glenys's condition. What became instantly apparent when we first met Dr Morton was her thoroughness as she forensically examined Glenys's medical history. It was not only that that impressed us, it was clear to us that Dr Morton was an expert in the field of thoracic medicine and in particular cystic fibrosis. It was also clear that she had extensive knowledge of lung transplantation.

Even more importantly, an instant rapport with Glenys and me was established. Judith was the first doctor to follow through on the fact that our daughter was a cystic fibrosis carrier. Shortly after some extensive tests, Dr Morton confirmed that Glenys had cystic fibrosis. Even though this result was not expected, it provided clarity for Glenys and me, as it provided answers regarding her condition and also opened up treatment options.

For us, Dr Morton epitomises what a doctor should be: professional, thorough, skilful, knowledgeable and passionate about what she does. Even more importantly, she supports and empathises with her patients. Judith has recently been recognised at the inaugural Cystic Fibrosis Australia Governor-General's Patron's Awards as the CF Centre Star for her work with CF patients in South Australia. We are indeed very fortunate to have doctors of the calibre of Judith Morton working in our public health system.

Cystic fibrosis is the most common form of recessive genetic conditions inherited in Australia. Some facts about cystic fibrosis include that, in Australia, one in 2,500 babies are born with CF. On average, one in 25 people carries a CF gene, most of whom are unaware that they are carriers. Research has shown that over 1,500 genes cause CF, the most common being Delta-F508, which occurs in 72 per cent of CF cases. Glenys has this gene, but the other gene she has is far more obscure, with only four cases recorded in South Australia.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects a number of organs in the body, especially the lungs and pancreas, by clogging them with sticky mucus. Repeated infections and blockages can cause irreversible lung damage and death. Mucus can also be a problem in the pancreas, preventing the release of enzymes needed to digest food. This means that people with CF can often have problems with nutrition. In Australia, since the mid-1980s, all babies are screened at birth for CF. Although this test is not foolproof, I think it identifies between 80 and 90 per cent.

At present, there is no cure for CF, but the faulty genes are being identified, and doctors and scientists are working to find ways of repairing and replacing them. For Glenys to be diagnosed with CF was quite extraordinary, given her age of 61. For Glenys's generation (and my generation, for that matter), very few CF patients survived to their 20s. Even today, life expectancy for someone with CF is around 35 to 37 years of age. The improvement has been through advances in treatment for CF patients.

Apart from the instant rapport that was established with Dr Morton, we gained confidence in the treatment Glenys has received, and continues to receive, at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Of course, this confidence is very important, given the serious nature of Glenys's condition. Glenys has been through an extensive work-up for a lung transplant, and we expect that she will shortly be listed for a transplant at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, one of the two units that South Australians can be referred to.

From late August, Glenys has required permanent connection to an oxygen supply. Since that time, my life has changed considerably as I have become her full-time carer. I have come to expect the unexpected at times, never knowing when the next round of hospitalisation can occur, but also knowing that should it occur, Glenys will get the best possible care available.

I must say the events of the last year have highlighted to me the value of our public health system, and the quality and empathy and passion and talent of those men and women who work in the public health system in South Australia. Given the nature of Glenys's condition, if it were not for the public health system, she may not be with us today. The multidisciplined approach afforded through the public health system, in my view, is far superior to that that she would have received through the private health system, particularly when it comes to treating a chronic medical condition such as cystic fibrosis.

In making my decision regarding my future in the Legislative Council, there are many people I would like to thank, particularly the parliamentary staff, who all work hard for us to undertake our duties here, in particular the Clerk Jan Davis and the Legislative Council staff. They have always been helpful, courteous and professional.

To Hansard, who make all of us read much better than we actually speak, thank you. Thank you to the catering staff, who provide truly exceptional service. I think I may be one of the few members of this place who leaves lighter than what they actually came into the place as, and that is no criticism of the food provided here, I can assure you. To the cleaning staff and maintenance staff, the support staff, including committee staff and in particular committee staff who provided valuable support to the committees that I had the privilege to chair, thank you.

At times, particularly at the stage where I was presiding over five committees, they assisted me greatly to ensure the smooth running of those committees. Thank you to the Premier, Jay Weatherill, and Reggie Martin, the state secretary of the Australian Labor Party, for their support, particularly since I informed them of my decision, and the entire caucus of the South Australian Parliamentary Labor Party, a great team.

Thank you to Bob Donnelly and John Adley from the CEPU electrical and plumbing division and to Graham Lorrain and Nick Townsend from the communications division of the CEPU, who all do a tremendous job representing workers across the communications, electrical and plumbing industries, thank you. To Robyn Geraghty, who has been a political ally, a mentor, a dear, dear friend and continues to provide both Glenys and I tremendous support, thank you. To all of our family and friends, for their love and support, thank you.

In my time I have also had the pleasure, as the ALP member in this place, of being a duty member in the electorate of Mount Gambier during my first year and Chaffey and Bragg. I would particularly like to thank Viv and Jim Maher, stalwarts of the Mount Gambier sub-branch. I think they have been called on to actually stand on numerous occasions and did it with great honour. I would also like to thank Roly Telfer and Lance Degenhardt, stalwarts of the Chaffey sub-branch, for their support and friendship.

In the case of the Chaffey sub-branch, I had the pleasure to catch up with many businesses and visited many recipients of grants awarded through the Riverland's futures fund. That was certainly very educational and it taught me how businesses that are innovative were moving forward. They were all doing very well. I should also thank members of the Torrens sub-branch, where I had the honour of being the sub-branch president until 2015. They have always been very supportive, and I thank them for that.

I would also like to make special mention of our daughter Katie and her wife and our son Matthew and his wife, for whom the past 12 months have been stressfully worrying, particularly knowing the state of their mother's health. Their support has been tremendous and has helped Glenys and I cope. The birth of Leo and Max has given Glenys a tremendous boost. It has given her a goal, post transplantation, to enjoy her grandchildren.

I have had the honour of working with some tremendous personal staff. I have been entrusted to look after three wonderful trainees, Sam, Zenon and Alice, who have so ably assisted me and whom I have had the pleasure of assisting in their skills development. Finally, I need to mention my personal assistant, Toni Geraghty, who started with me on the very day I started on a journey in this place, over five years ago. She has been a godsend, making sure I was in the right place at the right time, liaising with all the committee secretaries to ensure that I was not double booked, and at times that was a significant challenge given the number of committees I was on. I think I reached 13 at one stage.

Toni has been a vital element to the smooth running of my office. She is also a wonderful friend to Glenys and I. There was always a rivalry between her and Todd during the AFL season, especially during Showdown week. Todd, I would have to say, though, that I think you have lost your chance to have Toni wear Crows paraphernalia.

I should also mention that, within the first three months of my presence in this place, Toni assisted in some dramas—equipment failures. On two occasions, I had the fly of my trousers actually break five minutes before question time, and there was a great rush for safety pins. I must say, it was a bit dangerous, but we got there, and I took some advice from the Hon. John Gazzola after that, namely, that I should make sure that I had a spare suit about. So, I religiously made sure that was available, although I have never needed it since! Toni, thank you for your loyalty, support, skill and good humour. You are gem and I would have been lost in this place without you. Thank you.

My decision to resign has not come lightly, and I have come to the conclusion that the best time is spent in ensuring Glenys receives the greatest level of care possible. When I first spoke in this chamber some five years ago, I said:

Throughout our marriage Glenys has truly been a tremendous support to me. This may sound corny, but, Glenys, you complete me.

And that wholeheartedly remains the case today. It is my turn to support my beautiful wife in her time of need. I have absolutely no regrets about that. Glenys, you are truly a remarkable woman. I admire you greatly for the strength and tenacity you have shown, even during this very trying time. Regrettably, I have also determined that, in order to provide the care that Glenys warrants and deserves, I am unable to fulfil my duties in a manner that I believe they deserve.

I thank the council for its forbearance in granting me leave over the past five months and members for the kind regards that many of you have expressed to me personally. I am proud to have served in two Labor governments, and it will always be an honour and a privilege I hold dearly. I am and will remain committed to the Australian Labor Party and the broader labour movement and they will remain a big part of my life. As I said earlier, it has been an honour and a privilege to serve in this place and I wish you all the best. Thank you all.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (16:00): I rise to speak today of the contribution and, I think, the sadness that we all feel at the resignation of the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars. In his nearly 5½ years of service through this chamber to the people of South Australia, Gerry has been remarkably prolific and extremely active in committees, and particularly in a number of committees as a presiding member. He has also advocated for, and spoken passionately about a range of issues right across the political and social spectrum.

Among notable issues that come to mind are very moving speeches and his advocacy around issues such as marriage equality, access to assisted reproductive treatment and medical research. Gerry has been one of the leaders on these matters in this place, and I know that many have applauded and appreciated the hard work he has done in these areas. His work on committees has spanned an incredibly broad range of issues, some of which I know he feels passionate about but some, I suspect, particularly on some of the select committees he feels slightly less passionate about, but I think it is safe to say that few members would have contributed so much to their committee work as Gerry has over the last 5½ years.

I know that Gerry is quite rightly proud of his advocacy and his achievements both inside this place and outside of this place. The Hon. Gerry Kandelaars spoke of some of his work, particularly as a duty member in country areas. I think it is the case with all of his work; when he does something, he does it exceptionally well and exceptionally diligently. I was just speaking to some of the members of your former duty electorate in the Mount Gambier sub-branch this morning, Gerry, who passed on just how much they valued how seriously you took your roles in these areas. We know just how committed Gerry is to the Labor Party and the Labor cause: he gave his first born son up for the cause and that is a remarkable commitment.

Prior to entering the parliament, Gerry had a long career, first as a telecommunications professional, then as a union organiser and a leader representing members, working Australians, in those sectors. He has been a strong and passionate advocate for the rights of working people throughout his career and for the equality and equity for all Australians. I am absolutely confident that, in leaving this place, Gerry's ferocity in his advocacy will not be affected in whatever capacity he continues in.

One of the things that I think distinguishes Gerry is his character: his openness, his kindness, his accessibility and his humility. I think everyone in this place would agree that Gerry is an extraordinarily decent person who treats everybody with respect and dignity. Perhaps the most important feature of Gerry's character is his commitment to his family. He has demonstrated this in a number of ways, most recently by recognising the choice that sometimes making the hard choice to put your family above everything else is not in fact a difficult choice; it is the only choice to make.

Gerry has spoken about his enormous compassion and love for his wife of over 40 years, Glenys, and that is obvious today and obvious to everyone who has known Gerry. I know that members on all sides of the chamber will absolutely understand and respect your decision to do what you need to do, Gerry, and I thank you on behalf of the Labor Party and the labour movement for your dedication, your determination and your humanity that has been the trademark to everything that you have done here.

I think if two words had to characterise how you have gone about your work here, they are diligence and dignity. You will be missed in this chamber for your very hard work, the long hours you have given in many roles in this house of parliament, and for your warmth and humility. Be secure in the knowledge that you depart in the very highest standing with all who have worked with you over the last 5½ years. I know I speak for everyone here when I wish you, Glenys and your family all the best that it can be in these difficult times. Mate, comrade, go well.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (16:04): I rise to speak to the motion on behalf of the whole opposition, not just the members of the opposition who are in the Legislative Council but the broader opposition—Steven Marshall and the team in the other place. I have only known Gerry for the last five years. I had not really heard much about him. I had maybe seen him when he was around the traps supporting Robyn Geraghty and other members, but I have only really come to know him in the last five years. Of course, as the minister mentioned, prior to parliament Gerry had a long and successful career in Telstra and other parts of the union movement and the Labor Party.

No-one can question Gerry's work ethic. He has been an absolute workhorse of the Legislative Council. Both he and the minister made mention of the vast number of committees—the figure I have is 28 parliamentary committees over his five years here—I think he said it was 13 or 14 at once that he was involved with. Certainly I think it is probably a record that takes some beating. Of course, he was the presiding member on five of those committees. For those who have been involved in committees we know that is a reasonably heavy workload. I also know that in politics that you were respected for your commitment and diligence on those committees.

In the committees that I have worked on with you I have developed a great level of respect for the way you conducted yourself in those committees and here in the chamber itself. As Kyam Maher, the Leader of the Government said, you have acted with diligence and dignity; you have always been very good. While we might sit on different sides of the political fence I think all members of this chamber are aware that sometimes this can be a thankless job and I can appreciate your hard work and your dedication in your role as a member of parliament.

The circumstances, Gerry, in which you are leaving the parliament are, of course, extremely regrettable but there is nothing more important in life than your family and we hope that a donor and all of the things that are ahead of you come to you as soon as possible. It is with great sincerity that I extend the wishes of the entire opposition—as I said, here and in the other place—to you, Glenys and your family in what must be a very difficult time. With those few words, Gerry, we do wish the very, very best to you and Glenys and the family for the future and I am sure that we will see you around here in some capacity at some point in the future. All the very best.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (16:07): I rise to speak about and to thank the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars for his contribution to the ALP, this parliament and the community. I met Gerry while he was working at Robyn Geraghty's office, the former member for Torrens. I was working with the member for Playford then, the Hon. Jack Snelling. We worked on various community projects. I found Gerry to be very passionate and very loyal to the ALP cause. Often he would wind up very quickly if someone had a go at the ALP or ALP policies. I get on well with Gerry because I often come across as very soft and gentle whereas Gerry is completely the opposite, so we worked well on various projects where I played the good cop and he played the bad cop.

After being elected at the March 2014 election I have come to know him more on the working side of things. As you know, in government often the backbenchers have to carry a lot of committee work and at one stage the committee work was divided between just Gerry and me. I know the jokes in the ALP then were 'The Tung and Gerry show in the upper house'. They were saying that Gerry and I run the show up here.

Since I was elected, if it was not for Gerry showing me the ropes and helping me out as a new member, I would have struggled in this place because, as other members have mentioned, he did a lot of heavy lifting with the committee work, and he often picked out the heavy ones and, because he knew I was the new member, he handed me the lighter load, so I thank Gerry for his work in terms of looking after me as a new member.

I admired Gerry most recently for his love and dedication to his wife Glenys. As other members have mentioned before, in this job we can be very busy at times and sometimes we neglect our families. Gerry shows us that family is very important and family needs to come first. When he mentioned to me that he was thinking of giving it up, I tried to convince him not to. I told him to take more leave and still get paid for it, but he is a very honourable man. He said to me, 'Glenys is the number one thing in my life at the moment and money is not everything.' It just shows what type of person he is. He did not want to look after himself—he could have done it, but he did not.

He was also worried about what people would think about a member not attending work and getting paid, that it may not give this place a good image. So, I was not able to convince him. It just shows that he puts this parliament first and he puts his family first. I thank Gerry for teaching us, teaching me, those life lessons.

Let me wind up. On behalf of all members here, especially the ALP members, I thank Gerry for his contribution and I wish him and his wife all the best for the future, especially Glenys, who faces some challenges ahead. We will be thinking of you and will be praying for you.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (16:12): I rise briefly to speak to this motion. Like some others, I first became aware of the Hon. Mr Kandelaars before he came to this place, when he was working for the then member for Torrens, Robyn Geraghty. I suppose since he has been here I became, initially, like many, well aware of his fierce defence of the ALP, as has been mentioned, and its policies, but I also think that he became well known through the various committees on which he served and chaired, some of which I shared membership with him.

He became well known for the pursuit of any witness who he thought was trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the committee, whether it be executives of mining or fracking bodies or whether it be, to be fair, public servants. If he thought they were trying to pull the wool over his eyes or over the eyes of anybody else, Gerry was pretty relentless in his pursuit, and that is a great credit to him.

I shared membership of the Natural Resources Committee with Gerry on I think two separate occasions—there was a break there for a while—and also more recently the Occupational Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Committee, which we really do need to rename. On both those committees that Gerry and I worked on, we worked very well with other people, under the very good chairmanship of the member for Ashford, the Hon. Steph Key.

We also worked on select committees, and on a couple of those select committees Gerry was the only government member who was prepared to put up his hand. While he did his best for the government's position, as I said earlier, if he did suspect that someone was trying to be a bit smart with a committee he would let them know that he was across the game.

Very early in his career I remember saying to the whip of the day, and it may have been the Hon. Mr Gazzola, and it might have gone on to the current leader of the government, 'Give Gerry more to do, will you? He reads too much.' While a lot of us only seemed to find time to scan a lot of things, Gerry seemed to be able to read every word.

It would be remiss of me not to mention some of the causes that Gerry has supported as a member of parliament. Obviously, White Ribbon is very high on my list and means a lot to me, and Gerry's advocacy in relation to the renewal of ambassadors has been valuable, although I have to tell you that they have not sorted out all their issues.

His support for my work in suicide prevention has been behind-the-scenes, but I have been aware of it, and I appreciate it. He also joined me in being a strong advocate for Operation Flinders. Even through Glenys's illness last year, Gerry still came along and helped me co-host the event here for Operation Flinders. I appreciate that Gerry.

Finally, we all remember that at various times Gerry has served, not only as the acting president, but also as the acting whip, and so I have had to deal with him even more closely in that regard. He put every effort into doing his absolute best in those roles.

Gerry—and I call the Hon. Mr Kandelaars Gerry—I wish you and Glenys well. I have great admiration for the decision that you have made. Every best wish.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (16:17): Hardworking, honest and full of integrity, I think these are all characteristics that all working men and women aspire to, and I would like to think they are all characteristics that people fortunate enough to be able to serve in this place aspire to as well. In the case of Gerry Kandelaars, these characteristics are not simply aspirations. They are a working life lived out. Gerry, you have every reason to be incredibly proud of your length of loyal service to the Australian Labor Movement.

Apart from those characteristics, the thing that stands out most to me about your working life and your commitment to our great movement, is that you have always remained true and loyal to Labor values. You have a proud history, from a proud union, and in every decision I have borne witness to you making, but more importantly to every action you have ever been a party to, you have always remembered where you have come from and remained utterly true to those Labor values. That is something that is a true privilege to have witnessed, and I am very grateful for every opportunity I have had to work with you. I also offer my best wishes to you and your beautiful family for many years to come.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (16:19): I rise to make a brief contribution and express my thanks to the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars for his diligent way of chairing the Social Development Committee. In the many rides that we had to country regions to meet witnesses and in our deliberations, we shared many conversations about family, about fairness, about community and about social justice. I want to thank you for your contribution to parliament, particularly on so many levels to the committees that you served diligently.

I also want to express how beautiful it is to have met Glenys and on many occasions shared meals together when we attended multicultural functions. I want to wish you and your family and Glenys the very best during these difficult times. I hope we will see each other again and all the best.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (16:20): I will briefly add my contribution. I would like to start by thanking Gerry for your heartfelt and personal reflections on life and work and the balance between them. I am very familiar with the choice that you have made, and I know it is the right choice—absolutely, it is the right choice. We all know that positions in places like this are hard come by. We fight hard to get in here and we do not relinquish them lightly, but I think your choice to put your family and Glenys first is absolutely the right one.

The one thing that I want to reflect on from what you said was hearing about lung transplants. Again, this is something that I have some familiarity with. If any of us here are not organ donors, or if we are in any position to influence people in our families to make their wishes known when it comes to organ donation, it is a critical thing we can do because there are so many people who would love to hang onto life and for whom an organ is what makes that possible. Thank you, Gerry, for your service. Thank you for your friendship and your camaraderie. I wish you and Glenys all the very best.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (16:21): I join other members in honouring the service of the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars. I have found Gerry to be a person who is deeply committed to the parliament and to parliamentary committees. It is not a universal trait among politicians. Too often we disrespect this place, and the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars, I believe, has been very respectful. He has been active, diligent, hardworking, consistently balanced and fair, but he was not, shall we say, archaic in his understanding of parliament.

I will certainly have echoing in my ears for years to come the persistent reminders of the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars to make sure that we use our substantial powers with great respect to the citizens, that we ensure that our proceedings are always fair, particularly in terms of natural justice for people who might have had adverse statements made about them in the parliament.

One phrase that comes to mind with Gerry is that he is a true believer. It is good to be reminded about social justice and Labor Party values. Gerry is always a person who has kept the faith and perhaps at times inspired others to go back to their values. I have often enjoyed Gerry's passionate contributions in the parliament; he certainly did not bottle up his values here.

As the Hon. John Dawkins indicated, Gerry was very hardworking in the community and put me to shame in terms of my contribution to groups such as White Ribbon ambassadors and violence against women. Whether it was rainbow issues or Operation Flinders, Gerry Kandelaars showed himself to be a man of values that he was keen to promote throughout the community. I have the utmost respect for his decision to resign from this place and to share more time with Glenys. I wish you both all power, strength and peace in your journey.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (16:23): I rise very briefly to associate myself on behalf of Family First with the motion. I would like to sincerely wish you a wonderful period ahead, Gerry. Obviously, there are difficulties ahead, but know that you are certainly in our thoughts. It has been a challenging period, no doubt, but you have handled yourself, from my observations, with dignity and that is worthy of respect.

When I reflect on your time in this parliament, albeit fairly brief by comparison to some others, you have certainly demonstrated to me and Robert, and no doubt everyone in this chamber, that you are someone who has a commitment to doing things well and a real sense of integrity about your daily work, which I have really come to respect. I have only worked with you on two committees during that time, despite the fact that you have been on 30 or something outrageous like that—and that might say something about how many committees we have here. It has been a pleasure working with you. I am sorry to hear the news that you have brought to us today, but it is with our very best wishes that we send you off.

I will reflect very kindly and warmly on a gesture you made a few years ago when I was quite ill and in and out of hospital for a number of weeks. You took the time to send a card to my hospital, as I recall, and I was very grateful for that. I think that speaks to the man you are. I also say that I will never stand in front of anybody putting their family first. I am not sure you will be able to bring yourself to do it at the ballot box, but that is okay, I understand. I sincerely and genuinely wish you, your wife and your family well.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (16:25): I will say a few brief words on behalf of the Dignity Party to acknowledge the contribution that the Hon. Mr Kandelaars has made today and also more broadly to this parliament. Gerry and I have not worked together particularly closely. I think we have served together on at least one, maybe two, committees, particularly on the Social Development Committee where I have always found Mr Kandelaars very diligent and passionate and thorough in his work particularly when it comes to matters of social justice—combatting domestic violence, for example. He has a strong record on what the Hon. Mr Wade referred to as rainbow issues or issues regarding LGBTIQ persons in our community.

One of the reasons that I greatly admire Mr Kandelaars' contribution to those particular matters in terms of the rainbow reforms is that I know that performing that particular duty is more than a job to him because of the nature of his family. While I have not met all of them, I have had the pleasure of meeting Glenys on a number of occasions, and the level of commitment and love that you have for each other has been evident to me even in those brief meetings.

I hope that the strength of that bond and also the strength that Glenys and yourself have showed in surviving this terribly difficult situation so far continues to hold you in good stead. I am sure that I speak for all of us when I say that Adelaide, being what it is, I am sure that we will meet again. I certainly hope so. You know where to find me, and if there is anything I can do to support you and your family as a soon-to-be former colleague and something of a friend, I am more than happy to do so.

Like the Hon. Mr Parnell, when I was listening to Mr Kandelaars speak I did think about the importance of organ donation. Members might know that I, in conjunction with the member for Fisher in the other place, have done a lot of work in recent years promoting organ donation. The member for Fisher, of course, whose son became an organ donor following his death, and me in particular because my former partner's mother became an organ donor about three years ago, see the importance that donation played, not only in allowing other people to continue their lives with their families and the people they love, but the sense of relief and peace that it brought to our families as well. I would certainly echo and associate myself with the comments of the Hon. Mr Parnell in that regard.

The journey that the Kandelaars family has embarked on and is continuing to make is not an easy one. On behalf of the Dignity Party, I have spoken of the challenges that family carers face in this place, in this state and in this country, and I hope that this is as easy a journey as it can be. I wish you every strength and every best wish as you make this incredibly difficult decision.

I will close with a couple of remarks. Apart from his passion for a number of issues that I share a passion for, one of the things that I have always admired about Gerry—and this might sound like an overly simplistic or a very small thing—but I have always appreciated the fact that it is not uncommon to walk into the Blue Room (the cafeteria) here at Parliament House and see Gerry seated with Toni and some other members of his office or ALP staff having lunch with them.

I have always appreciated that because it really sent a reminder to me that, no matter how busy we are or how hectic our lives are, it is important to take time out and spend quality time showing that we appreciate the people who help us achieve what we need to achieve. I always have lunch with my staff too, but it is usually on a corner of one of their desks as we are hunched over different computers, working on different things. Seeing Gerry take that time out has always meant a great deal to me.

The last thing I wanted to mention was the time at which he is leaving this place. I think he made remarks to the effect that he could no longer give this role the energy and the time it deserves. That is, I think, a really important thing to remember. We are in this place to serve with passion and enthusiasm and energy and if, for some reason, we can no longer deliver that, whether we just run out of passion—although I certainly cannot imagine that happening for many of us, particularly myself—or we have a change in circumstances, it is very difficult but it is the right thing to step down for the cause and allow someone who is able to provide that time and energy to these important causes. It is certainly not an easy decision, but it is one I deeply admire. I wish the Hon. Mr Kandelaars and his family all that can be as good as possible at this difficult time.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:31): I rise very briefly because others have said so many of the things I wanted to say. I cannot help but remark today in a very positive light on the impact that the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars has had on this place. I remember vividly the very honourable member's first speech and seeing the faces of some of his Labor right colleagues when we realised there was a sea change in this place on issues particularly to do with what has been referred to as 'rainbow communities'.

I want to say that I have really admired Gerry's open-mindedness and acceptance particularly of the most marginalised people in our society on AIDS/HIV issues, on issues to do with the trans community, those who are seen as gender diverse and queer and not important, often, in our public debates. Gerry accorded all those people the importance they truly deserve and I really appreciated his commitment there. Indeed, I also appreciated his commitment on one of those many committees in looking at one of my bills on the 'gay panic' defence not once but twice, giving him that extra work.

Gerry was a sea change in this place on some of those issues and it came from his passion (not just for his family who of course, I think he is representing when he speaks on some of those issues) and his deep-seated respect for the diversity of humankind across a range of issues. I always enjoyed that. I also enjoyed lunches with Gerry and his staff and the wonderful Toni and her ever-changing hair colours in this place, not just brightening up this place with that attribute but of indeed with the wit and wisdom and the genuine acceptance of that diversity. I have appreciated that.

Lots of people have referred to you today as 'Gerry' rather than 'the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars'. I think it is because you have done honour to this place and you will be honourable as you leave. I wish you and Glenys all the best and I wish your family health and happiness for a long time to come, long after you have left this place.

Sitting suspended from 16:33 to 16:46.

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